I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9196 

To prohibit consideration of pregnancy status when filing for divorce. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 30, 2024 

Mr. CLEAVER (for himself, Mrs. FOUSHEE, Mrs. PELTOLA, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. BROWNLEY, Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Ms. TOKUDA, Mr. CASTEN, 

Mr. TRONE, Mrs. DINGELL, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. THANEDAR, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Ms. 

OCASIO-CORTEZ, Mr. DAVIS of North Carolina, Ms. ROSS, Ms. ADAMS, 

Ms. BONAMICI, Ms. LEE of Pennsylvania, Mrs. FLETCHER, Ms. CROCKETT, and Ms. NORTON) introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To prohibit consideration of pregnancy status when filing 

for divorce. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Pregnancy Empower5 ment Act of 2024’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds as follows: 


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•HR 9196 IH

1 (1) Throughout calendar year 2024, national 

2 news media reported that several States, in practice, 

3 will not finalize a divorce for pregnant people. 

4 (2) Many States, in practice, delay, prohibit, or 

5 limit divorce until the baby’s delivery, allowing the 

6 court to determine paternity status and parental 

7 rights. 

8 (3) Non-Invasive Prenatal Paternity (NIPP) 

9 tests can now determine paternal status with blood 

10 samples from the mother and alleged father and 

11 achieve an accuracy rate of 99.9 percent. 

12 (4) Pregnant people are at an increased risk of 

13 experiencing intimate partner violence. 

14 (5) Women of color are disproportionately im15 pacted by domestic violence and are more likely to 

16 die at the hands of an abuser. 

17 (6) Black women are murdered by men at three 

18 times the rate of their white counterparts. 

19 (7) Black women living with a partner are six 

20 times more likely to experience domestic violence. 

21 (8) An estimated 324,000 pregnant people ex22 perience intimate partner violence in the United 

23 States per year. 


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•HR 9196 IH

1 (9) When reported and detected, prevalence of 

2 intimate partner violence during pregnancy can 

3 range as high as 35 percent. 

4 (10) Reproductive coercion can prevent women 

5 in abusive marriages from finalizing a divorce, keep6 ing women in abusive relationships. 

7 (11) One in 6 abused women were first abused 

8 during pregnancy. 

9 (12) Homicide is the second leading cause of 

10 traumatic death for pregnant and recently pregnant 

11 people, accounting for 31 percent of maternal injury 

12 deaths. 

13 (13) Women living in poverty are twice as likely 

14 to experience intimate partner violence. 

15 (14) People experiencing intimate partner vio16 lence often rely on the emergency room due to finan17 cial concerns and coercion and control from their 

18 abusers. 

19 (15) Divorce has a profound economic impact, 

20 often implicating interstate commerce and assets. 

21 (16) The median American divorce costs $7,000 

22 and the average American divorce costs $15,000. 

23 (17) Contested divorces involving child custody 

24 debate can cost over $100,000. 


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•HR 9196 IH

1 (18) Of the $27.4 billion reported by the FY 

2 2022 Office of Child Support Services Preliminary 

3 Data Report, $1.4 billion came from interstate 

4 cases. 

5 (19) Divorces dissolve many financial assets, 

6 many of which may cross State lines, including— 

7 (A) real estate; 

8 (B) outstanding debts; 

9 (C) investments; 

10 (D) retirement savings; 

11 (E) property; and 

12 (F) business interests. 

13 (20) Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3 of the U.S. 

14 Constitution provides Congress the power to regulate 

15 interstate commerce. 

16 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION AGAINST CONSIDERATION OF PREG17 NANCY STATUS WHEN FILING FOR DIVORCE. 

18 No State may take pregnancy status into consider19 ation when considering the filing of a petition for divorce. 

Æ 


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